2-days in Charleston with 7-yo & 9-yo

We are headed to Hilton Head week before Memorial Day. I%26#39;ve heard good things about Charleston, SC as it comes up typically on the annual ';top cities'; lists from various travel publications (along with cities like Santa Fe, NM, San Francisco, etc. - we%26#39;re from Seattle and Charleston is one of the few ';top cities'; we haven%26#39;t visited yet.)

Was thinking of driving up and spending a couple nights. I see the drive to HH from Savannah is 40 min and from Charleston, just over 2 hrs so actually thinking of flying in/out of Charleston instead of Savannah as it will save at least an hour total driving time for the trip. I heard Savannah was not as kid-friendly?

Sure is not cheap to stay in Historic District I see but it sounds like the Holiday Inn is the best deal in that area. We%26#39;ll have a car of course. Seems a lot of people recommend staying in the Historic District though, but in this economy we%26#39;re on a budget so not sure if we can afford it.

Always wondering what the ';must see'; things are. We have IMAX and a world-class Aquarium already in Seattle. Done a Ghost Tour in Williamsburg before. Harbor Tour sounds like a good idea and maybe the Fort?

Any recommendations on where to stay and must-see things considering we have a 7 and 9-yo would be appreciated. Mainly wondering if we%26#39;ll regret staying outside the Historic District to save $100-$150 total over 2 nights. I heard there is free parking and traffic isn%26#39;t bad, but this will be Memorial Day weekend! Keep in mind we%26#39;ll have already had our %26#39;beach time%26#39; at Hilton Head.

Thanks in advance!

2-days in Charleston with 7-yo %26amp; 9-yo

Well after doing some more reading, I see that Savannah is charming in it%26#39;s own right. I also read there is some big festival Memorial Day Weekend in Charleston - no wonder a lot of the Historic District hotels are already booked. Considering Savannah is an 1.5 hours closer to Hilton Head and we have kids with us, maybe it would be wiser to just visit Savannah for 2-nights and save Charleston for a couples-only trip at a later date? At this age, much of the historical significance will not be retained by the kids anyway. Seems it would be best to do what is more convenient and cut out 3 hours total of driving time and maybe have more options as far as reasonable priced accomodations downtown? Charleston definitely sounds like the better city at night, but our kids will be going to be about 9 PM anyway so that%26#39;s not a big consideration.

Help!

2-days in Charleston with 7-yo %26amp; 9-yo

I would stay in Savannah, and make Charleston another trip. I do not think Fort Sumnter tour is a good option of the children that age--really not much for them to see/do since it%26#39;s really all about the historical significance. You will enjoy Savannah as much as you would Charleston.